1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a detergent for removing fat and oil adhered to a metal part or the like, a stain such as a flux or a fingerprint or the like adhered to an electronic part or the like.
2. Prior Art
Freon-based solvents and halogen-based solvents have been used for the degreasing and cleaning of an object to be cleaned such as a metal part, electronic part or semiconductor part because they are incombustible and secure from ignition and have excellent detergency. However, for the fear of such problems as the destruction of global environment and influence upon the human body, switchover to aqueous detergents which comprise a surfactant and an alkali as essential ingredients, hydrocarbon-based detergents, alcohol-based detergents and quasi-aqueous detergents containing a third petroleum hydrocarbon dispersed in water using a surfactant is now under way.
However, a cleaning method using an aqueous detergent involves such problems as high foamability, insufficient cleaning capabilities, the disposal of a large amount of waste water and the corrosion of an object to be cleaned. Hydrocarbon-based detergents and alcohol-based detergents are both combustible and have low flash points, thereby involving the risk of ignition. Quasi-aqueous detergents have such defects that they become flammable upon phase separation and nonuniform in cleaning properties and a large amount of waste water must be disposed of.
To cope with these problems, JP-A8-3592 (the term xe2x80x9cJP-Axe2x80x9d as used herein means an xe2x80x9cunexamined published Japanese patent applicationxe2x80x9d) proposes a detergent which comprises propylene glycol alkyl ether having high compatibility with water, propylene glycol alkyl ether having low compatibility with water and water as essential ingredients. Since this detergent can be made nonflammable by selecting an appropriate amount of water and the glycol ether component having low compatibility with water has high degreasing properties, it has high cleaning capabilities and is very useful when the above components form a homogeneous phase. However, this detergent has still room to be improved in a sense that the composition area where the above components form a homogeneous phase is very narrow. Particularly, when a large amount of the glycol ether having low compatibility with water is contained, the nonflammable area is limited to a very small area and it is difficult to produce a detergent having high cleaning capabilities and high safety.
The inventors of the present invention have conducted intensive studies to solve the above problems and have found that a specific imidazolidinone compound greatly improves the solubility in water of a polar organic solvent having low compatibility with water and also the degreasing capabilities of a detergent. The present invention has been accomplished based on this finding.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel detergent having excellent detergent action and novel composition.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description. According to the present invention, the above objects and advantages of the present invention are attained by a detergent comprising:
(A) a polar organic solvent having low solubility in water;
(B) an imidazolidinone compound represented by the following formula (I): 
wherein R1 and R2 are each independently a methyl group or ethyl group; and
(C) water,
and forming a homogeneous phase.